Although construction costs are not final, estimates put the 250,000-sf project at 2323 Lake Robbins Dr. at approximately $300 per sf. The development, Bridgewood's second in the Houston area, will have independent-living and assisted-living units. Amenities include a dining room, computer room, library, theater and fitness center with indoor pool.

"The Woodlands is an established market, with a good population of seniors. Also, there are residents with parents who would be good candidates. We market to both groups," says Bridgewood's president James Gray.

According to Tim Dosch, vice president with Apartment Realty Advisors' Houston office, the Woodlands Development Corp. was just as enthusiastic to have a more "urban" senior living development in its borders. "There are other senior projects in the Woodlands that are more suburban, but they're more garden-style product," says Dosch, who brokered the land deal with Apartment Realty Advisors' vice president David Marshall. "This will be a mid-rise product." It will also be overlooking the Woodlands Waterway at the Woodlands Town Center, a type of urban core for this far north Houston suburb.

Ambrose McEnany & House is the designer of record. Construction Supervisors Inc. is the general contractor. Both companies are in Houston. Greg Jordan, director of commercial sales for the Woodlands Development Corp. represented the seller.

Bridgewood's other Houston property is the 188-unit Village of Tanglewood at 1600 Augusta Blvd., on Houston's west side. The developer has similar centers in Texas and nationwide, also under the "Village" brand.

Gray says while expansion is in the plans, the company is not looking to do high volume. "We're more about quality, than quantity. We'll have no more than one start a year," he tells GlobeSt.com. The ideal markets for development, he continues, are those with large populations and a strong senior base. "We gravitate toward infill locations," he adds.